On a recent trip to the Kruta River near Cape Gracias a Dios on the Honduran Caribbean and the Nicaraguan Border, life without roads and little electricity proceeds slowly, detached from the world at large. Yet, drug trafficking is changing the economy and the culture of the Miskitu People, and due to overfishing, local people can only turn to harvesting jellyfish for China as an honest source of revenue.

At the mouth of the Kruta River in La Moskitia, Honduras, there is a small fish camp dedicated to harvesting jellyfish for the Chinese market, but very little fish being caught for consumption by the local Miskitu people. Photo By Jack Eidt.

Miskitu fishermen cutting and salting their catch at the bar of the Kruta River, where fisheries have been depleted and subsistence fishing is not easy. Photo By Jack Eidt.

Chinese have been eating “Hai Zhe” or jellyfish for more than 1,000 years. With stocks of fish depleted, turning to harvesting the medusas, as they are called in Spanish can be lucrative. Sadly, the fishermen here claim they have delivered the jellyfish to their Chinese buyers, but have not been paid by the local intermediaries. Corruption is rife in Honduras, and the struggle to get paid for honest work remains a difficult issue with the Miskitu.

Unfortunately, drug trafficking is the only other viable option available.

Heading out in search of hand-netting “medusas” or jellyfish. Photo By Jack Eidt

Jellyfish is likened to “really tough cucumber” or “cartilage” but popular in parts of Asia, where it’s usually sliced thinly, marinated and served cold in salads. It is high in potassium and copper and a good source of selenium and iron, though low in protein. Given the problems with worldwide fisheries, the taste for jellyfish may have to grow worldwide.

Climate change is expected to actually help jellyfish (they prefer warm oceans), and then they in turn could speed climate change, because carbon dioxide-producing bacteria love their excrement. Jellyfish need less oxygen than other sea life, so they aren’t bothered by waters choked by contaminants and algae. Unlike oysters or snails, jellyfish aren’t affected by increasing oceans acidification, since they don’t have shells.

In Mandarin they call jellyfish as seafood “ko-gan” or “mouth-feel” – for its rubbery consistency rather than its flavor. You can slice it thinly and marinate it in a sesame soy vinegar dressing with sliced cucumber, bean sprouts and shredded chicken and have it as a cold salad garnished with toasted sesame seeds. Photo By Jack Eidt.

3 Comments

Good afternoon: my name is Raul Malo We are interested in buying large quantities of containers jellyfish or jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris) work for a company with offices in Canada and China Medusa bought in different countries if they could help me I will thank I await your response and thank you very much in advance for your time Raul Malo mail: [email protected] tel: 664 4375965 skipe: raulmalosrhttp://pepinodema8.wix.com/rmg#!photos

Featured Stories

The Michael Moore-produced, Jeff Gibbs video, Planet of the Humans, uses the capitalism onslaught that has caused disaster across the planet as an Earth Day opportunity to lob spitballs at environmental movements and prominent advocates. While it can't even manage any more cogent solutions than vague assertions about curbing population and over-consumption, it also fails to see the monster who stands before it: the system, which needs to be overcome, immediately.

Now is the time to invest in a regenerative economy that supports climate finance at scale. Our banking and investment practices can proactively regenerate the planet and foster a clean, green economy that is both socially conscious and sustainable. EcoJustice Radio speaks with Tom Duncan of Earthbanc.

THE BOTTLE SCAM - EcoJustice Radio connects the dots between the Water Bottle Scam and the fight for Land, Water, and Indigenous Rights. This is PART FIVE of a special seven-part series, called, “The Plastic Plague: Connecting the Dots between Extraction, Inequity, and Pollution.”

EcoJustice Radio investigates the impacts plastics have on our personal health and quality of life. From food packaging to building materials, we cover the toxins types, corporate responsibility, and how can we avoid exposure. We dive into what it means to support the efforts of frontline communities to minimize exposure by reducing these toxic chemicals.

EcoJustice Radio visits Baltimore, Maryland, setting the standard for #ZeroWasteCities by ensuring social equity. Their racially and economically just Zero Waste Plan goes beyond the successful management of resources and waste by lifting up human rights values and ensuring that those communities who are historically burdened by the ill effects of our waste system are made a priority. Jessica Aldridge from Adventures in Waste interviews advocates from United Workers.

REFINEMENT - Once extracted, how does oil and gas become the resin that will eventually be the plastic we use in our daily lives? Then we buy these products, the social and environmental justice issues are covered up by cool marketing campaigns.

On today’s show Carry Kim speaks with special guest Torgen Johnson, an urban planner and community activist from coastal San Diego County here to discuss the stranded nuclear waste situation at the now closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located just a short drive south of Los Angeles. Nuclear waste has been described by Greenpeace’s Michael Stothard as “the most destructive and indestructible waste in history.” Torgen will shed some light on how we can remain safe nevertheless.

EcoJustice Radio and Adventures In Waste look at Single Use Consumption Culture and how proposed #AB1080 and #SB54 legislation in California attempts to reduce plastic pollution and support recycling and Circular Economy efforts.